Téa Obreht, born Tea Bajraktarević on September 30, 1985, in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, is an acclaimed American novelist.

She grew up in Cyprus and Egypt before immigrating to the United States at the age of twelve. Her multicultural upbringing greatly influenced her writing, exposing her to a rich blend of cultures, languages, and customs.

Téa Obreht attended the University of Southern California and later earned an MFA in Fiction from Cornell University in 20091. Her debut novel, "The Tiger's Wife," published in 2010, was a critical and commercial success.

The novel, set in an unnamed Balkan country, explores themes of family, war, and the supernatural. It won the prestigious Orange Prize for Fiction in 2011, making Téa Obreht the youngest winner of the award at that time.

The novel was also a finalist for the National Book Award for Fiction. In addition to her novels, her short stories have appeared in esteemed publications such as The New Yorker, Harper's, and Zoetrope: All-Story. Her work has been anthologized in "The Best American Short Stories" and "The Best American Non-Required Reading."

Téa Obreht has cited numerous literary influences, including Gabriel García Márquez, Ivo Andrić, and Roald Dahl. She is married to Irish writer Dan Sheehan, and the couple welcomed their daughter, Nela Sheehan, in March 2022. They currently reside in Wyoming.

Her second novel, "The Morningside," was published in 2024 and continues to showcase her talent for storytelling and her ability to weave together complex narratives. Throughout her career, she has received several accolades, including the Rona Jaffe Foundation Writers' Award and a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts.

She was also named one of the twenty best American fiction writers under forty by The New Yorker.

From 2020 to 2022, she served as the Endowed Chair of Creative Writing at Texas State University in San Marcos.